In my opinion, one of the
most exciting bowlers to watch was John Gant. He was the PBA
rookie of the year in 1984. I recall he had some success out on
tour through the late 80s before giving it all up to be with his
family. After a 6 year layoff, In 1995, Gant came back on tour,
and in order to re-qualify for the Tournament of Champions, he
needed to win. On March 11, 1995, he qualified 4th in the Johnny
Petraglia Open, and marched through the field winning 4 matches to
capture his 3rd PBA title. In the reactive resin era, his ball hit
harder than anyone I can remember. Even in the urethane era, his
ball hit hard! Gant ended up winning 4 titles in his PBA career,
with his last being the Tournament of Champions in 1997. The
following clip is each of his 10 frames in the championship match
from that day, knocking off Ken McNeely, 234-216. I hope that you
enjoy watching John Gant:

John Gant has officially returned from a six-year absence from the
PBA Tour, having won the $170,000 Brunswick Johnny Petraglia Open
at Caroller Lanes in North Brunswick, N.J. Gant, Winston-Salem,
N.C., became the first player of 1995 to advance from the
fourth-seeded position, and defeated first-time finalist and
top-seeded Ken McNeely, 234-216, for the $34,000 first prize and
his third PBA title.

McNeely, Morgantown, N.C., opened impressively with a turkey,
while Gant bettered him with a four-bagger, spare, double, to lead
by 19 pins after seven frames. McNeely's unorthodox "jack
sprung-out-of-the box" style was critically wounded when he
missed a single 8-pin leave in his fifth frame, and he never got
closer than 18 pins of Gant. McNeely's animated performance was
salved with the $18,000 runnerup check.

Gant said, "I'm used to losing to Ken, because he usually
beats me in our matches back home. I picked the right ball today
and that's critical."

Gant began the day against the only non-lefthander, Randy Pedersen
of Hollywood, Fla., and the burly former baseball pitcher came
through in the closing innings, finishing with five strikes to
advance, 224-219. He next posted clutch 101h-frame strikes against
Bob Belmont, Dunedin, Fla., 236-227, and bettered another
first-time finalist, Billy Myers Jr., with late frame heroics,
236-217. Myers, Temple City, Calif., earned $10,000 for third
place, Belmont took home $8,000 for fourth and Pedersen's bid for
an 11th PBA title was consoled with the $6,500 fifth-place check.